New Mexico lawmakers push for legislative salaries despite years of pushback
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is the only state in the country that doesn't pay a salary to lawmakers, even though some have pushed to change that policy for years. After another failed attempt this session, some are wondering if there is any chance New Mexico's system could change?
'Who we send to Santa Fe does not represent the incredible depth and diversity and insight and expertise of families across our state,' said Representative Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla).
Democratic state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena says that's just one of the many reasons why she thinks New Mexico should have a paid legislature. She says the state's current 'volunteer' set up ensures that the powerful, wealthy, or retired make up the vast majority of candidates who can do the job.
New state law expands who can become a NM law enforcement officer
'And that means when we're there taking these consequential votes that affect and impact our lives every day, a lot of the folks taking those votes are really disconnected from what's happening in real time,' said Rep. Cadena.
The issue is one of what drove Representative Cadena to write a letter at the end of this session, only saying, 'The people of New Mexico deserve better.'
'That body, in my perspective and insight, does not represent the New Mexicans that I try to show up for every day,' said Rep. Cadena.
The legislative salary idea has been around for years, including this session, where a joint resolution, SJR 1, didn't get a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Democratic Senator George Muñoz. He opposes the idea of a paid legislature, saying the current system doesn't limit who's involved.
Bernalillo County DA speaks out on juvenile crime bills not passing in the NM Legislature
'I see a wide variety of people there. I see teachers who have jobs that leave the schools for 60 days. I see non-profit organizations that have people that are elected, I see retirees, I see ranchers,' said Senator George Muñoz (D-Gallup).
He adds that creating legislative salaries could also attract the wrong kind of lawmakers to the Roundhouse. 'Now, will it open it up to an array of people, sure it will. It will get people running for a job, and it will not be for service to the state or for service to their constituents,' said Sen. Muñoz.
Democratic Representative Angelica Rubio was a sponsor of both the House, HJR 18, and Senate resolutions, SJR 1, for a legislative salary this session. She says they plan to reintroduce an updated version in 2026.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
13 minutes ago
US Rep. LaMonica McIver indicted on federal charges from skirmish at New Jersey immigration center
TRENTON, N.J. -- U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted Tuesday on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention center while Newark's mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced the grand jury indictment in a post on X. 'While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve,' Habba said. In a statement, McIver said the charges amounted to the Trump administration trying to scare her. 'The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation,' she said. McIver, a Democrat, was charged in a complaint by Habba last month with two assault charges stemming from the May 9 visit to Newark's Delaney Hall — a 1,000-bed, privately owned facility that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses as a detention center. The indictment includes three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials. Habba said two of the counts carry a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison. A third has a maximum sentence of one year. McIver's lawyer, former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman, said in a statement that they would challenge the allegations 'head-on' in court. 'The legal process will expose this prosecution for what it truly is -- political retaliation against a dedicated public servant who refuses to shy away from her oversight responsibilities,' Fishman said. The indictment is the latest development in a legal-political drama that has seen President Donald Trump's administration take Democratic officials from New Jersey's largest city to court, tapping into the president's immigration crackdown and Democrats' efforts to respond. The prosecution of McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. At the same visit that resulted in McIver's charges, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge, which was later dropped. Baraka is suing Habba over what he said was a malicious prosecution. A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chain-link fence just before the arrest of the mayor on the street side of the fence, where other people had been protesting. She and uniformed officials go through the gate, and she joins others shouting that they should circle the mayor. The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers. At one point, her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word 'Police' on it. It isn't clear from police bodycam video whether that contact was intentional, incidental or a result of jostling in the chaotic scene. The complaint says she 'slammed' her forearm into an agent then tried to restrain the agent by grabbing him. The indictment says she placed her arms around the mayor to block his arrest and repeats the charges that she slammed her forearm into an agent and grabbed the agent. New Jersey Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez had joined McIver at the detention center that day. They and other Democrats have criticized the arrest and disputed the charges as well. By law, members of Congress are authorized to go into federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill that spelled out the authority. McIver, 38, first came to Congress in September in a special election after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. left a vacancy in the 10th District. She was then elected to a full term in November. A Newark native, she served as the president of the Newark City Council from 2022 to 2024 and worked in the city's public schools before that.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Five takeaways from New Jersey's primaries for governor: How the candidates are handling Trump and more
The matchup in New Jersey's race for governor is officially set — and Tuesday's primaries also laid down big indicators about the state of both political parties after the first major intraparty contests since the 2024 election. Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator, easily won his party's primary with President Donald Trump's endorsement, underscoring Trump's significant sway over the GOP electorate. U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the crowded Democratic primary, pitching herself as the candidate with the best shot at holding on to the governorship and steering past ideological and antiestablishment sentiment simmering in her party. She defeated candidates who were to her left and to her right. The race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, one of two governor's races this year, is expected to be competitive. Trump lost the state by 6 percentage points in November, a 10-point swing in his direction compared with his 2020 margin. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday's primaries: Sherrill won as many Democratic voters were weighing which candidate would be most electable and as each Democratic candidate pitched a different path forward for the party. Sherrill's victory suggests some Democratic voters want to dust off the party's successful playbook from the 2018 midterm elections, when she flipped a longtime Republican-held House seat. In that campaign and in her primary run this year, Sherrill stressed her background as a Navy helicopter pilot and a former federal prosecutor and pitched 'ruthless competence' as a counter to Trump. 'It just seems so obvious to me what the path forward is. It's effectively govern,' Sherrill recently told NBC News. 'And this is what I've been doing since 2018 when I first ran, right? ... I say to people, 'What's keeping you up at night?'' 'I tell people it's not maybe the sexiest tagline, but ruthless competence is what people in New Jersey want to see in government,' Sherrill added later. 'And that's what I've always provided, and that's what I think stands in stark contrast to the most incompetent federal government we've probably ever seen in this nation.' Still, while Sherrill won with over a third of the vote, the results revealed a fractured party. Two candidates who pitched themselves as more progressive, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, won a combined 36% of the vote. Two of the more moderate candidates, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, got 20% combined, while teachers union president Sean Spiller won 10%. After having come just 3 percentage points shy of defeating Murphy in 2021, Ciattarelli made one thing clear in his bid four years later: He's all in on Trump. Like many prominent Republicans, Ciattarelli wasn't always on board — he criticized Trump as a 'charlatan' in 2015. And while he embraced Trump during his previous bid for governor, he didn't campaign with him. That led Ciattarelli's opponents, including his top competitor, former radio host Bill Spadea, to try to frame him as insufficiently loyal to Trump. (Spadea had voiced criticism of Trump before he fell back in line.) But Trump's endorsement of Ciattarelli cemented his front-runner status, helping hasten the end of the campaign. And in a nod to Ciattarelli's past criticism, Trump tried to inoculate him from any attempt to undercut his Trump bona fides. 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!),' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing his backing. Tuesday's result suggests that Trump's seal of approval was good enough for most GOP primary voters. By late Tuesday evening, Ciattarelli was carrying all of the state's 21 counties. Ciattarelli's vote share was at 67% by late Tuesday evening, compared with just 22% for Spadea. State Sen. Jon Bramnick, who had been critical of Trump, had won just 6%, followed by two other candidates who had each won less than 3% of the vote. Ciattarelli thanked Trump in his victory speech for his 'endorsement and strong support,' making a joke about his being a 'part-time New Jersey resident.' (Trump owns a home and a golf course in Bedminster.) But Ciattarelli spent most of his speech focused on a general election argument, not on shoring up his base — indicative of the line he'll have to walk in a state Trump lost three times, even after the improvement he showed last year. Both parties are grappling with antiestablishment sentiment, wondering how to handle it, channel it or just avoid getting run over by it. But Tuesday's results were also a reminder that political institutions still have some staying power. New Jersey's traditional political machines were dealt a blow last year following a lawsuit from Democrat Andy Kim during his Senate run, when a court ordered that county parties could no longer give advantageous ballot positions to their preferred candidates. That diminished the sway those parties had Tuesday, but they still demonstrated some power. Ciattarelli was the only Republican who competed for county party endorsements. Fulop didn't compete for Democratic county party endorsements, and Gottheimer sat some out, as well. Some county parties split between the candidates, with Sherrill earning the most endorsements from 10 of the 21 counties. While Sherrill was carrying 15 of the state's 21 counties late Tuesday, Gottheimer was winning his home county, Bergen, which endorsed him. Sweeney, the only candidate from South Jersey, fared far better in the six counties that backed him. He was winning 40% of the vote in Gloucester County while garnering 7% of the statewide vote. The county party endorsements were no guarantee of victory: The Essex County Democrats, for example, endorsed Sherrill. But as of late Tuesday evening, she was trailing Baraka in Essex County, where he is mayor of Newark, the state's largest city. Even in that instance, though, the party endorsement may have helped Sherrill cut Baraka's margins in his home base. Tuesday night's victory speeches were also important table-setters, indicative of how each party is looking to frame the general election. And New Jersey's general election this year may foreshadow much of what we see on the campaign trail around the country in the 2026 midterms. Outside of a quick thanks to Trump, Ciattarelli kept his focus tightly on Sherrill and New Jersey Democrats in his victory speech. He criticized her as 'Phil Murphy 2.0,' arguing that she has 'enabled every extremist and costly idea Phil Murphy has put forth,' and he even revived a key criticism of Murphy from his 2021 campaign. He also criticized Sherrill's focus on Trump as a deflection. 'Mark my words: While we focus on these key New Jersey issues, my Democratic opponent will do everything in her power. Trust me ... if you took a shot every time Mikie Sherrill says 'Trump,' you'd be drunk off your ass every day between now and Nov. 4,' he said. 'But every time you hear her say 'Trump,' I want you to know what it really means: What it really means is Mikie doesn't have a plan to fix New Jersey,' he continued. During her victory speech, Sherrill leaned heavily on her biography but also emphasized a dual mandate — a fight against New Jersey Republicans and also against Trump, a recipe that Democrats have successfully leaned on in past midterm elections. Calling Ciattarelli a 'Trump lackey' who shouldn't lead the state, Sherrill criticized 'Trump and MAGA Republicans in D.C. [who] want to raise your taxes and take away your health care and education dollars.' 'This country is too beautiful to be beholden to the cruelty and self-interest that Jack and Trump are trying to hoist on her,' she said. 'The future is built on hard work and hope, and here in New Jersey, we're known for our grit, our tenacity — maybe a little bit for how loud we are — but it's going to take a strong voice to cut through the noise from Washington and deliver for the people,' she said. 'So I stand here tonight doing just that. And as a mom of four teenagers, you guys know I'm not going to put up with the incompetent, whiny nonsense coming from aggrieved MAGA Republicans.' Tuesday's results showed how money matters in campaigns — and how it has its limits. On the Democratic side, Sherrill won despite having been outspent by some of her opponents whose outside groups dropped millions of dollars on the race. The largest outside spender was Working New Jersey, a super PAC funded by the state's teachers union, which Spiller leads. The group had spent a whopping $35 million on the race as of May 27, according to the latest campaign finance reports, while Spiller's campaign had spent $342,000. As of late Tuesday, Spiller had about 10% of the primary vote. Gottheimer and Fulop were also boosted by outside groups that spent millions of dollars on the airwaves. (Gottheimer drained his congressional account to fund the outside group supporting him.) Sherrill got support on the airwaves from One Giant Leap PAC, which spent less than either Gottheimer's or Fulop's groups but spent most of its funds in the final weeks of the race. Ciattarelli and an aligned outside group, Kitchen Table Conservatives, outspent the other Republicans. And Ciattarelli touted his strong fundraising as proof that he would be a formidable general election candidate. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New Jersey primaries: Trump-backed Ciattarelli wins GOP nod; Sherrill wins Dem nomination
One in a pair of states with a gubernatorial race this year, New Jersey hosted the more competitive of the two primaries Tuesday night. Five Republicans and six Democrats vied to represent their party in the November general election. Yet, despite the crowded fields, both races were called within an hour of polls closing. Jack Ciattarelli, who had President Donald Trump's backing, walked away with the win among Republicans, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill came out victorious against her fellow Democrats. Ciattarelli has run in the last two gubernatorial races in New Jersey, coming in 3 points behind current Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021. The outcome between Ciattarelli and Sherrill is highly anticipated even beyond the Garden State, as a potential national bellwether ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. New Jersey voters have picked their nominees for governor. Now, attention turns south to Virginia. The commonwealth will host their primaries the following week on June 17. But unlike New Jersey, there won't be much jostling for a spot at the top of the ticket. Only two of the six statewide primary races are competitive this year, both on the Democratic side. In the governor's race, Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears have each had their party's nomination since April. -- Savannah Kuchar EMILY's List, a group focused on electing Democratic women to office, endorsed Sherrill in the primaries and celebrated her win Tuesday. 'This is a time for tough leaders, and Mikie Sherrill is as tough as they come,' EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler said in a statement, adding, 'At EMILYs List we are proud to have stood with Mikie since her first campaign, and we're thrilled to support her all the way to victory in November.' Sherrill is now one of two women representing the Democratic ticket for governor in 2025, along with former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who locked her nomination in Virginia back in April. The pair began their congressional careers the same year in 2019 and share a more moderate reputation. The Democratic National Committee, who did not endorse a candidate in the New Jersey primary, also congratulated Sherrill. 'The DNC is all hands on deck to ensure the Governor's office and Assembly remain blue in November,' DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. 'We will do everything in our power to unite the party and defeat Republican extremists like Jack Ciattarelli.' -- Savannah Kuchar Shortly after Ciattarelli clinched the Republican nomination for governor, the Democratic Governors Association released a statement bashing the former state legislator over his endorsement from the president. 'Ciattarelli's about-face to unequivocally embrace Donald Trump and his refusal to stand up to his party's extreme, costly, and unpopular agenda are too extreme for New Jersey,' said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Izzi Levy. 'Between now and November, we will make sure voters remember why they rejected his last two statewide bids.' Ciattarelli is a previous Trump critic turned presidential endorsee. In 2015, he called Trump a GOP 'charlatan.' This year, in Ciattarelli's third run for governor, Trump offered his full vocal support, including in a telephone rally with voters. Republican State Leadership Committee President Edith Jorge-Tuñón congratulated Ciattarelli in a statement Tuesday evening, and said, 'With New Jersey Republicans rallying around Jack Ciattarelli, we are well positioned to hold Democrats accountable for their poor record and work to deliver the real change that has been promised.' -- Savannah Kuchar Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor, has won the Democratic nomination for New Jersey governor, according to projections from The Washington Post and the Associated Press She beat out five party competitors, in what was the most competitive gubernatorial primary this year. Sherrill is will face Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the November general. -- Savannah Kuchar Jack Ciattarelli won the GOP nomination in New Jersey's 2025 gubernatorial election, as results from the primary trickle in. The race was called by the Washington Post and Associated Press shortly after polls closed. He earned Trump's backing in May and came into Election Day with a strong frontrunner status. Ciattarelli previously served as a member of the New Jersey general assembly and has run two prior campaigns for governor. In 2021, he came within 3 points of unseating current Gov. Phil Murphy, who is now term limited. – Savannah Kuchar More: Trump-backed candidate wins Republican nomination in New Jersey governor's race Polls are now closed in New Jersey's 2025 primaries. Results are expected later this evening and will determine both parties' nominees for governor. Republicans may have their nominee sooner, with former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli polling well ahead of his GOP competitors. -- Savannah Kuchar Polls will close in New Jersey at 8 p.m. ET on June 10. Once voting is over, New Jersey Republicans and Democrats alike will wait to learn who their official nominee for governor is in 2025. Those nominees face off later this year on November 4. – Savannah Kuchar New Jersey is one of two states with a gubernatorial race in 2025, along with Virginia. Both states typically hold their state elections in off years, between presidential and mid-term elections. This year, they are widely viewed as the first real temperature check on voters' moods and key issues since November 2024. Following the June 10 primaries in New Jersey, Virginia will host theirs June 17. While New Jersey has a crowded field of candidates vying for the governor's mansion on both sides of the aisle, Virginia's top of ticket race has been set since April. Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, will face Virginia's Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears this fall. – Savannah Kuchar One area where Democrats vying to be New Jersey's next governor seem to agree are opposing President Trump's response to the anti-ICE demonstrations in California. The president's move to deploy Marines and the National Guard has sparked arguably the most significant showdown with a Democratic governor since his return to the White House. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, for example, filed an emergency motion seeking to limit the use of troops. On the New Jersey campaign trail, Sherrill and Gottheimer condemned Trump and defended Newsom's actions, according to Fox News. Baraka, as has been mentioned, has already made headlines after being detained outside an ICE facility last month. He has filed suit against the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, claiming it was 'false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation." New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, one of the longshot contenders, said in a June 9 post on X that if elected he wouldn't 'bend down' to Trump's tactics. 'What's happening in the streets of (Los Angeles) is not normal and we shouldn't act like it is,' Spiller said. 'From ICE tearing apart families to the President sending out the National Guard -- over the objection of the Governor -- and now apparently contemplating deploying Marines on our people - we have to stand up in solidarity and defend our democracy.' — Phillip M. Bailey Trump has owned property in Bedminster, New Jersey, since 2002. However, the president is not expected to vote in the Garden State's election. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump cast a ballot for himself from Palm Beach, part of Florida's 22nd Congressional District. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House to confirm Trump is still registered to vote in the Sunshine State. A recent inspection at Trump's ritzy golf club, located on 500-plus-acres in central New Jersey, found more than a dozen health code violations. According to a May 6 report, raw meat was improperly refrigerated, some handwashing stations lacked soap and the person in charge failed to "demonstrate knowledge of food safety." -- Savannah Kuchar and Zachary Schermele One political figure you'd think would have a lot to say about picking the Garden State's next leader is Republican Chris Christie, whose brash-style pre-dated the Trump era. The verbose former governor, who led New Jersey from 2010-2018 and twice ran for president unsuccessfully, hasn't endorsed anyone in this year's contest. He also was quiet across his socials as voters flocked to the polls Tuesday. Asked last week if he planned to support anyone, Christie told The Star-Ledger: 'I haven't decided yet.' Christie mentioned having a 'great working relationship' with Brammick, a Republican state legislator, but he mostly warned the GOP that independents -- who will be critical in the fall for any Republican -- may sour on Trump by the fall. 'If those independents have become disenchanted with what's happening in Washington under Donald Trump, that will put a significant headwind onto Republicans,' he said. — Phillip M. Bailey Rep. Mikie Sherrill is the frontrunner coming into Tuesday evening. In a May poll by Emerson College and The Hill, Sherrill was ahead with 28% of voters' support. She faces Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and fellow member of Congress Josh Gottheimer, all of whom were sitting at 11% support in last month's poll. New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller and former state Sen. President Steve Sweeney are also in the running. -- Savannah Kuchar This race is particularly important for national Democrats because it will be the first major competitive primary since their shattering defeat in the 2024 presidential race. A poll conducted by Emerson College in May found among registered Democratic voters, Sherrill had a solid lead with 28%, but another 24% were undecided. In the last weeks of the race she has faced attack ads for accepting donations linked from a corporate PAC tied to SpaceX, which is owned by Trump 'frienemy' Elon Musk. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has pitched himself as the candidate most willing to take on Trump. He was thrust into the national spotlight in May after a confrontation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a federal facility But if electability remains a worry then N.J. Democrats may bet on a safer choice such as U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who co-founded a bipartisan group dubbed the "Problem Solvers Caucus" that tries to sniff out consensus in Congress. Others in the race, such as Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, are looking for an opening, too. He's been running as a 'pragmatic progressive' for voters fed up with the state's political machine. — Phillip M. Bailey Current New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is term-limited and cannot run again in this year's race. Murphy has served as top official in the state since 2018 and will conclude his second consecutive term next January. His absence from the race leaves the contest wide open for either party to claim the governor's mansion. The president first announced his support for Ciattarelli in a Truth Social post on May 12. 'Jack Ciattarelli is a terrific America First Candidate running to be the next Governor of a State that I love, NEW JERSEY!' Trump wrote. 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100%' The two have not always been the best of buds publicly. In 2015, Ciattarelli called Trump a "charlatan." Then in his second campaign for governor in 2021, he kept the then-former president at arm's length. Bygones appear to be bygones, though. Trump told voters in a telephone rally on June 2 Ciattarelli "is the most experienced and battle-tested" candidate. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Recap: Ciattarelli, Sherill wins nominations for governor in NJ
